It took over nine years, from the day Michelle Marshall walked into Eric’s office to complain about a toxic sludge and dust in her neighborhood to find justice. But Eric and his firm, Harrell & Nowak, built a case against two companies and their insurers that could not be ignored.
Despite assurances and promises to the State that the Air Liquide calcium hydroxide sludge pond off Chef Mentaur Highway would be reclaimed safely, the companies violated their own plans by spreading the sludge and dust on the roads and into the air. The dust was caustic causing burns, rashes, nose bleeds, and breathing problems for months.
After nine years – through two trials and multiple filings to the Louisiana 4th Circuit Court of Appeals and Supreme Court – the determined neighborhood and Harrell & Nowak secured more than $8 million in damages.
